Hatty Keane
For years she's been working hard to make a name for herself in the world of music, and Salford-born Hatty Keane isn't going to rest on her laurels now that she has a loyal following.
With a brand new single and music video out, we took the time to chat to the rising star about her career so far, females in pop music and just what we can expect from her going forward.
We actually spoke to you back in 2012, how much has changed and happened since then?
I'm trying to think when that was now - was it last September?
Yes it was! Yeah.
Since then I've written my album - I know my sound. I'm actually an artist now, I know exactly what I'm doing.
I've done about five school tours. We do it - it's called 'Inspire the Kids' - we go into schools and teach them anti-drugs and alcohol, and also perform; it just inspires them to be successful.
Then I did the tour with JLS - a lot has happened!
How was that?
Oh, amazing yeah. That's what I wanna do - perform in arenas, so.
Your new single 'Sirens' is out now, how did you find the process of creating that song?
Well, we've actually had the song for ages, and I've been performing it at gigs for the last two years, but we've been holding onto it because we know it's such a good song and we didn't wanna release it yet, but it's on my album.
The song is sort of like, girl power, when I was performing it at JLS obviously the audience was mostly girls so it was the perfect song - girl power, it's in your face, big beats!
How difficult would you say it is as a female to break out in this industry and carve a career?
I think it is quite hard - in my opinion it's easier for guys because obviously girls are gonna fancy them and be like 'Oh my God!', even if they're not amazing. So, it's a lot harder, especially like - when I was performing for JLS - girls are obviously gonna think 'Who's this girl?' - they're gonna be a bit stand-offish, but it's good, I enjoy it because then I prove to them that I'm good enough for them, and they like me! (laughs)
Do you feel there's a still a double standard in the industry when it comes to men and women? For example, Miley Cyrus and Rihanna coming under fire for highly sexual music videos.
Yeah, it feels like guys can kinda do whatever they want. I think with Rihanna and Miley and Beyoncé and all those, they're just trying to prove that you can be powerful and do whatever you want, it doesn't want.
You mentioned 'girl power' so is that an aim of yours as well?
Yeah, that's what it's like. Because, when we were doing the schools, I noticed that the girls don't have much confidence at all. It's always the boys that are out there with their answers, or confident to join in. So yeah, I just wanna bring out the confidence in girls.
So, for girls who are actually starting their journey in the music industry or something similar, what advice do you have for them?
Figure out what you want as an artist - that's the most important thing - because in the music industry you can get pushed around. People think they know what's best for you but you need to figure it out for yourself. Just get experience - get out there and follow what you wanna do.
What music have you been listening to recently?
Well, (laughs) I'm absolutely in love with the new Justin Bieber album. I was not a fan, but his new music is like, really good. Really good.
Who would you say is on your dream collaboration wishlist?
I don't know actually! I think it would have to be a female, something like that - a big female song. Like, Nicki Minaj or something like that. I don't know really because I'm so versatile myself (laughs) I don't really think about it!
You have a new music video out, tell us about that.
Actually what happened is we had a concept and then we were like 'Actually, that's not working', so we did it again. We filmed it again in a really short amount of time whilst we were doing the JLS tour and it's just - I look a bit evil in it (laughs) - but it's good. It's kind of just like - I'm the siren, I'm telling people 'Don't mess with me!'.
What else can we expect from you in the coming months?
Well, the album's coming out in February, which is called Pick N Mix. We're trying to get on all the big tours this year, hopefully. Trying to get another support. Just trying to get as much big things as possible.
Hatty Keane's new single 'Sirens' is out now, and Pick N Mix is expected to drop in the next couple of months.